Freeport-McMoRan(Phelps-Dodge) Locomotives |
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| Revised: 16 September 2024 | William Ford photo at Clifton, Arizona | |||
| Reporting Mark: PHDX | Formatted by: R. Craig | |||
| Arizona's southwest corner has been home, for decades, to one
of the largest copper mining operations on the globe. The region (approximately 160 miles west
of Phoenix) was opened to mining by the Detroit Copper Company in the late 1870s. It remained
as such until acquired by Phelps-Dodge Corporation in 1917. PHD also had mining and smelting
operations in New Mexico and Texas. Prior to the takeover, the company employed a bore and
tunnel method to extract low-grade copper and ship it to the smelter in nearby Douglas. By the
late 1930s, plans were well on their way to transition to open-cut mining, which began operating
in early 1942.
The shift in mining technology was accompanied by a significant change in motive power strategy, which included electrification and more powerful diesel locomotives. Phelps-Dodge was acquired by Freeport-McMoRan in 2007 | ||||
| Model (& Builder | Road No. | Serial Nmbr | Date | Notes |
| * * * Assigned to Ajo, AZ | ||||
| GP38-2 (EMD) | 1 | 73640-01 | 10/73 | -- |
| NW2 (EMD) | 2 | 850 | 5/39 | -- |
| NW2 (EMD) | 3 | 4846 | 6/47 | -- |
| 2 (2nd) & 3 (2nd) | 73640-02 & 03 | 10/73 | -- | |
| NW2 (EMD) | 5 | 961 | 11/49 | -- |
| GP7 (EMD) | 7 | 16898 | 6/52 | To Econ-Rail 3/95 |
| 8 | 18170 | 5/53 | To Econ-Rail 3/95 | |
| 10 | 16897 | 6/52 | -- | |
| 25-Ton (GE) | 19 | 30594 | 5/50 | -- |
| 20 | 30595 | 5/50 | -- | |
| GP9 (EMD) | 21 | 19981 | 4/55 | To Econ-Ril 3/95 |
| 22 | 19982 | 4/55 | To Econ-Ril 3/95 | |
| GP30 (EMD) | 24 | 27466 | 8/62 | To Econ-Rail 3/95 |
| 25-30 | 27729-27733 | 6/63 | All to Econ-Rail except #26 3/95 | |
| 31 & 32 | 27734, 27735 | 6/63 | #33 to Econ-Rail 3/95 | |
| 31 & 32 | 27734, 27735 | 6/63 | #33 to Econ-Rail 3/95 | |
| 15-Ton (Brkvlle) | No# | 4000 | 3/54 | -- |
| * * Assigned to Morenci Pit Mine | ||||
| SW1 (EMC) | "A" | 903 | 7/39 | -- |
| GP7 (EMD) | 1(2nd) & 2(2nd) | 16896, 16897 | 6/52 | -- |
| NW2 (EMC) | 2 | 7810 | 3/49 | -- |
| NW2 (EMD) | 3 & 4 | 885, 886 | 6/39 | -- |
| 5 & 6 | 1170, 1171 | 10/40 | -- | |
| 7 & 8 | 2351, 2352 | 11/42 | #8 rebuilt as SW1200R; sold to Austin & Southwestern 8 | |
| VO-1000 (BLW) | 9 | 64729 | 2/43 | Acq. new |
| 10 | 64730 | 2/43 | Acq. new; to Econo-Rail | |
| GP7 (EMD) | 27 | 16890 | 6/52 | -- |
| 28 & 29 | 18171, 18172 | 6/53 | -- | |
| GP9 (EMD) | 30-34 | 20596-20600 | 8/55 | #34 wrecked & rplaced |
| 34(2nd) | 15050 | -- | Rebuilt from Phelps-Dodge Lavender Pit x-N&W 3466 < nee Wabash GP7 466 | |
| 35-42 | 20601-20608 | 8/55 | #35 & 39 wrecked and rebuilt | |
| 43 | 23250 | 4/57 | -- | |
| GP18 (EMD) | 44 | 27463 | 9/62 | -- |
| 45 & 46 | 27464, 27465 | 9/62 | -- | |
| GP38 (EMD) | 47 & 48 | 32290, 32291 | 10/66 | -- |
| 49-52 | 33072-33075 | 4/67 | #51 sold to NREX | |
| 53 & 54 | 37375, 37376 | 4/71 | #54 sold to Eastern Alabama/vMeridian & Bigbee 5 | |
| GP38-2 (EMD) | 55-57 | 756116-2,3 & 31 | 3/76 | -- |
| 58 | 816026-1 | 3/82 | -- | |
| GP39-2 (EMD) | 63 | 806055-1 | 8/81 | Ex-Phelps-Dodge (Ajo, Az) #33 |
| * * Assigned to New Cornelia Branch | ||||
| SW1 (EMD) | 1 | 903 | 7/39 | Re-#d from "A" |
| NW2 (EMC) | 2 & 3 | 4845, 4846 | 6/47 | To Econo-Rail |
| 4 & 5 | 8960, 8961 | 11/49 | #5 sold to Econo-Rail | |
| SW7 (EMD) | 6 | 13981 | 1/51 | Sold to Tuscon Cornelia & Gila Bend 53 |
| GP7 (EMD) | 7 & 8 | 16898, 18170 | 5/53 | -- |
| GP7 (EMD) | 9 & 10 | -- | -- | -- |
| GP38-2 (EMD) | 9(2nd) | 756116-1 | 10/66 | -- |
| 135-ton Electrics (BLW) | 11 | 73228 | 12/46 | -- |
| 12 & 13 | 73221, 73222 | 1/47 | -- | |
| 14 & 15 | 73223, 73224 | 2/47 | -- | |
| 16 | 73225 | 3/47 | -- | |
| 17 | 73226 | 4/47 | -- | |
| 18 | 75110 | 5/51 | -- | |
| Electric motor note: The B-B locomotives were rated 2300V, 840-hp; they also incorporated two Stirling diesel engines. (Data compiled by Bob Lehmuth) | ||||
| GP9 (EMD) | 21 & 22 | 19981, 19982 | 4/55 | #22 sold to Econo-Rail |
| 23 | 22080 | 9/56 | -- | |
| GP30 (EMD) | 24-28 (2nd) | 2772-27731 | 6/63 | #25, 27 & 28 sold to Southwestern |
| 29-32(2nd) | 27732-27735 | 6/63 | 29 & 30 sold to South Western; and 31 sold to Econo-Rail | |
| * * Assigned to Douglas Smelter | ||||
| 25-Toner (GE) | 130 | 34130 | 2/61 | To Lukens Steel 45 |
| 131 | 34131 | 2/61 | -- | |
| 132 | 34132 | 2/61 | -- | |
| 80-Toner (GE) | 133 | 38473 | 9/72 | -- |
| 134 | 38989 | 5/74 | -- | |
| * * Assigned to Lavender Pit | ||||
| Por 8-ton | No# | 7659 | 2/45 | 30-inch gauge |
| Por 10-ton | No# | 7322 | 10/41 | 30-inch gauge |
| No# | 7440 | 1/43 | 30-inch gauge | |
| No# | 7608 & 7609 | 12/43 | 30-inch gauge | |
| * * Assigned to El Paso, TX | ||||
Sources:
Credits
Other contributors/sources: Andre Kristopans, Gareth McDonald, Keith Ardinger, Bill McBride
Randy Keller and Bruce Mercer.
Original upload: 1 September 2020 (Formatted by R. Craig)
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